The Force Beckons
by koladascopedope
Summary: Rachel and Joey didn't expect to get caught up in the Rebel Alliance. But when a mysterious gust of wind lands them on the Tantive IV, they find themselves on adventures they never dreamed they could experience. Rated T for language and violence.
1. Chapter 1

Book I

Part I: A New Hope

Chapter I

Rachel surveyed the large rockets and props all around her, completely bored out of her mind. She hated museums. She hated being a tourist even more. She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear as she leaned over the railing that looked out onto the foyer of the Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian. Everyone here was a tourist. Cameras strapped around their necks and white tennis shoes paired with khaki cutoffs confirmed it.

"Dude, take my picture!" she heard Joey call from behind her. A museum worker had dressed up as a moon lander, spacesuit and all.

Rachel rolled her eyes, pulling out her phone and snapping the pic, Joey's dopy grin shining on the screen. He thanked the spacesuit and walked over beside her. "Nice."

"Remind me why we're here again," she said, shutting off her phone and putting it back in her purse.

"Cause you've never been to DC and I thought we'd have fun."

"We could have gone to Disney World. Or the beach. Just throwing it out there."

"But you can't meet spacemen at the beach."

"You can at Disney World."

He huffed. "You could at least try to have fun. You love space stuff and science fiction. We both do. It's why I thought this would be fun."

"Sorry if a museum isn't my idea of fun, Joseph. It would have been just as easy to meet at Virginia Beach or—"

But she was cut off by a sudden gust of wind, whipping her long black hair into her face. Joey lost his balance, grabbing hold of the railing. "What the hell is that?" he yelled over the wind.

The wind did its best to knock them over but they clutched the railing as tight as they could. It whipped so hard that it forced their eyes shut. Rachel held onto the railing for dear life. Joey locked his knees and forced his body to comply with the force of the gust. And then, as quickly as it started…it stopped.

Joey opened his eyes and forced his body to relax. Finger by finger, he released his hands from the railing. Rachel had fallen to the ground and had wrapped her legs around one of the vertical rail supports. Her knuckles were white, her eyes were still shut, and she wasn't letting go.

"Rachel, it's alright. It stopped."

"What if it happens again?"

Joey rolled his eyes and looked around for the first time to see if anyone was hurt. But there was no one. They weren't even in the museum anymore. No, they had been taken to some kind of hallway. Everything seemed to be made of titanium and painted white, save the floor, which was a basic silver metal. There were some kind of doors at each end of the hallway, both were closed. The railing was now attached to the wall of the corridor.

"Uh, Rach?"

"What?"

"I don't think we're in DC anymore."

That was enough to make her at least open her eyes. She looked around with wide eyes, her knuckles somehow tightening on the railing. "Joey…what the hell?"

"I don't know. I mean, it had to have been the wind, but—"

He didn't finish. The door to his left shot upwards in a quick motion, seemingly sucked into the ceiling. Men in identical uniforms of blue shirts and white pants ran through, surrounding them. And before either of them could even think to react, each of the men had strange, black guns pointed right at their heads.

Joey's hands shot up into the air in surrender. Rachel copied him, releasing her hands for the first time.

"Who are you and how did you get in this ship?" the man at the front of the group asked sternly, yet with a sense of calmness.

"Uh, I'm Joey. Joey Jay." He waited for Rachel to say something and when she didn't, he cleared his throat. "That's my friend Rachel Compton."

"And how did you get in this ship, Joey Jay?"

"Look," he said, doing his best to act as confident as he could with ten guns pointed at him. "We just showed up here, alright? I don't even know where we are."

"Were you with the fleet? Did they transfer you onto this ship?"

"Ship? I told you, sir. We don't even know where we are. We're not looking for any trouble. I'm telling you, we're just as confused as you are."

The leader of the group narrowed his eyes and for a short moment, Joey thought he and Rachel were goners. But in an instant, the man's eyes softened. "Lower your weapons. They are not with the Empire. We'd be dead if that were the case."

The guns were lowered and Joey let out a sigh of relief, lowering his hands for the first time. The leader of the gunman offered a hand to Rachel, who hesitantly accepted help to her feet.

"Sorry about that, kids," he said, holstering the strange weapon. "Can't be too careful of suspicious folk just showing up on your ship. And don't think we're not going to have a talk about that. The Princess will want to speak with you too."

"Princess? Ship?" Rachel asked. "Someone needs to tell me where we are."

"Forgive me miss," the man said, with a small bow of his head. "You're aboard the _Tantive VI_ , bound for Alderaan. My name is Captain Raymus Antilles."

"Wait," Joey said, recognizing about every single one of those words. "You don't mean…"

Rachel fell back to the ground. "Dude, we ended up in _Star Wars_."


	2. Chapter 2

Antilles lead the two companions through the complicated corridors of the spaceship. When they passed the first window looking out over the vast black of space, Rachel gasped, practically pressing her nose to the glass, but Joey grabbed her and kept her moving. Yeah, they were in Star Wars. Yeah, they were super fans. And yeah, it was probably best that Antilles didn't really get wind of the fact that they were from a galaxy far far away. At least for now. What Joey really needed was a moment alone with Rachel to come up with some sort of plan. How much were they going to tell Antilles? And he had mentioned a princess. There was only one person that could be, and Joey wasn't sure if the truth would land them on her good side, or the side that faced the barrel of her blaster.

Eventually, Antilles led them to some kind of sitting room. Joey didn't remember it from the movies, but it was a large ship, supposedly designed to look like it was built for a diplomatic mission. Made sense it would have a room to relax in.

"Wait here. I must inform Princess Leia of your arrival."

"Hold on," Rachel said, turning towards the captain. "Not that we lied to you or anything, 'cause we didn't. But, why believe us?"

Joey had literally clench the muscles in his arm to keep from smacking her upside the head. Rachel, however, thought she made a good point.

"You wonder how one goes from pointing blasters at your heads, to treating you like a welcomed guest?" Antilles asked. "Have you two heard what happened to Jedha recently?"

"If you mean that it's gone…" Joey said, playing mostly dumb. Of course he knew what happened to Jedha. He knew more about what happened to Jedha than Antilles, most likely.

"The same thing happened to Scarif yesterday. Gone. Just gone."

"But that doesn't answer my question," Rachel protested.

"You are not an enemy to this ship. If you were, someone would be dead by now. An enemy of the ship follows us this very moment. They have no reason to board spies when they pursue us so hastily. You carry no weapons, you only wish for peace. Perhaps it is my own wish for more peace and less fighting in the galaxy that I believe your claims so easily. Now, if you'll excuse me, I really must fetch the Princess."

He left the two alone and Joey immediately sank into a white couch. "'Why believe us?' That's the first thing that you thought should come out of your mouth?"

"Look," she said through clenched teeth. "I'm just as confused as you are, so forgive me if I'm questioning all this a bit. Why should he trust us? You heard him, the Empire is on their tail. They're gonna board this ship, Joey. People are about to die! He's about to die!"

"You need to calm down. We need to figure out a game plan here."

"Seems like you've got some ideas, dumbass."

Joey rolled his eyes. Rachel had always called him dumbass. By now, he treated it as a term of endearment. "I think we should play mostly dumb. Side with the Rebellion and use what knowledge we have to act like we belong. I guess we can say we're from Courscant. It's so big, no one will question it. We left because we hate the Empire and somehow ended up on the ship."

"And how, exactly? Do you really think they're gonna believe a giant gust of wind transported us there? It's not like this universe has anything like 'beam me up, Scotty'."

"Christ, you're a dork," Joey sighed, leaning even further into the couch. "Just play as dumb as possible. Or let me do the talking."

She sat down then, letting out a deep breath. A moment of silence passed between them before a grin passed over Rachel's face. "Joey, we're about to meet Princess Leia."

He chuckled, crossing his arms over his chest. "Everyone back home is gonna be so jealous."

"Like they'd even believe us."

Their conversation ended then as the blast door opened, Antilles reappearing, accompanied by a woman. A woman with a peculiar set of buns in her hair…

Rachel shot back up onto her feet. "Princess Leia! This is so—"

"Such an honor," Joey said, cutting her off before she said something stupid.

Leia was not as friendly as Antilles. Her eyes were sharp and suspicious as she eyed the two friends. "Captain Antilles has informed me of your mysterious appearance on my ship."

"Yes, well, it's a mystery to all, Princess," Joey agreed.

"He has also told me he believes you to be trustworthy and not an enemy to my people."

"We are just two people who want peace. Much like yourself. Alderaan is a peaceful planet, right? No weapons and a great leader, Bail Organa."

Leia's face softened, if only in the slightest. "And what planet do you two hail from?"

"Courscant. Not a peaceful planet with Stormtroopers marching everywhere you go."

At that, her face softened completely. "I'm sorry for my sternness. We have all been through much in the last day. And one can't be too careful in times like these. As for how you came to be here, I'm sure we can figure that out when we reach Alderaan. For now, you are my guests. Though, I don't know you're names."

"I'm Joey Jay. This is—"

"Rachel Compton. And Rachel Compton can introduce herself."

Leia's eyebrows squinted.

"Is something wrong?" Rachel asked.

"No, it is just…never mind. I am sure I'm imagining things."

Rachel wanted to question her further, but before she could, a giant blast sounded through the ship, shaking the room they were in. Joey fell onto the ground and Rachel managed to land on the couch. Antilles was the only one who kept his footing, catching Leia before she could fall. "Your Highness, he is here."

For the first time, Leia's eyes showed something akin to fear. She turned back to the duo. "You are not loyal to the Empire, correct?"

"Never," Rachel said, catching her breath.

"You left Courscant because of the dictatorship of the Emperor?"

"Pretty much."

"So you side with the Rebellion?"

"One hundred percent."

"Good. Then follow me."

"Princess, I must go with the men," Antilles said.

"I'll hide the plans, Captain. I know a way to get them to my father. Vader will know nothing of it."

"Go, Princess. And may the Force be with you."

"With you as well." She turned back to the duo. "Follow me."

They ran with the princess through a maze of hallways as the ship trembled beneath their feet. The three eventually stumbled their way to a hanger bay of sorts. No longer were the walls white, but black and mechanical. "There you are," Leia said, running behind a wall.

A peculiar sound of beeps and boops came from the other side. Rachel and Joey ran to the other side of the wall and a small blue and silver droid sat there. R2-D2. Leia began pushing a combinations of buttons on his side.

"What are you doing?" Joey asked.

"Programming his instructions," she said, pulling out a small flat object, resembling a floppy-disk. "Did Antilles tell you of the events on Scarif yesterday?"

"Only that whatever happened on Jedha happened there as well," Rachel said, playing dumb.

"Rebel soldiers managed to retrieve plans of the Battlestation that destroyed Jedha and Scarif. They're contained on this disk." She slid it into R2. "If the Rebellion has any chance of destroying it, these plans must be taken to Alderaan and analyzed by my father. This ship has been boarded by Darth Vader. Have you heard of him?"

"Can't grow up on Courscant and not hear about Darth Vader," Rachel said.

"Then you know he can't discover that the plans were ever on this ship." She stood up, pulling her hood onto her head. R2 made a few beeping noises before going completely still. "General Kenobi," she said to the droid. "Years ago, you served my father in the Clone Wars. Now he begs you to help with his struggle against the Empire. I regret that I am unable to present my father's request in person. My ship has fallen under attack and my mission to bring you to Alderaan has failed. I have placed information vital to the survival of the Rebellion into the memory systems of this R2 unit. My father will know how to retrieve it. You must see this droid safely to him on Alderaan. This is our most desperate hour. Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi. You're my only hope."

A noise sounded to their right and Rachel though she caught a glimpse of something gold, but Leia had started clicking buttons on R2 again. "Which one of you is better with a blaster?" she asked.

Joey and Rachel exchanged a look, Rachel raising a condescending eyebrow knowing Joey had no time to argue. "Honestly, it's probably her," he admitted.

Leia turned to a cabinet behind her and produced two blasters, handing one to Rachel. "Listen very closely. There is an escape pod two lefts in that direction," she pointed. "Lead this R2 unit safely to the pod. He'll know how to program it to his destination. Shoot anything that gets in your way, but don't compromise the integrity of our cover as a diplomatic ship. Then, find your way back here and come up to the main hanger. Vader won't risk killing anyone on this ship who might have information. I believe I can convince him of my bluff. Just make sure this droid makes it into that escape pod."

"Two lefts in that direction," Rachel said, a look of excitement crossing her face that Joey did not reciprocate.

"I don't think we should separate," he said hesitantly.

"I'll meet you in the hanger, dumbass. Just let me have some fun first."

He didn't like it, but she took off before he could protest further, R2 trailing behind her. Rachel sped through the hanger's maze making two lefts. But a voice stopped her. "At last! Where have you been?"

Rachel turned her blaster on it in an instant. It was a rather recognizable human-shaped droid. "Don't shoot! I'm only a Protocol Droid!"

"Oh, it's just you," she said, lowering the blaster and smiling at C-3P0. "Come on, we've got to move."

"I am sorry, but Captain Antilles has ordered—"

"Antilles is gonna die very soon, so you best follow me, 3P0."

"Excuse me, but I do not think we've been introduced," the droid argued.

Rachel was about to smack-talk a retort, but R2 interrupted her with a series of beep-boops.

"Following orders?" 3P0 asked. "What do you mean, following orders? You know what Captain Antilles—"

More beep-boops. This time R2 didn't wait for a reply. He started moving again, and Rachel only followed, figuring it was best to let the droids fight rather than try to reason with 3P0.

3P0 followed them, muttering nonsense the whole way. Soon, they made it to the escape pod and R2 plugged into the edge of it, seemingly programing the contraption.

"Hey! We're not permitted in there. It's restricted," 3P0 said. "You'll be deactivated for sure."

The door opened and R2 rolled inside.

"You next," Rachel said, motioning with the blaster for 3P0 to enter.

"I'm not risking deactivation. I know the rules of this ship. I am programed to follow the rules of this ship. There is no reason to leave."

"How about if you don't, the Empire will get their hands on you? Think you'll be treated any better than deactivation under their control?" Rachel countered.

"On second thought, the strange woman makes sense, R2. You should have told me to listen to her earlier."

"There!" a voice shouted behind her. Stuns from blasters shot at Rachel and she ducked to avoid them. They came from Stormtroopers' blasters. She shot back, as Leia told her, but it was no use. There were too many.

"Son of a bitch, I hope I don't fuck this up," she said, jumping into the cramped pod space with the two droids before feeling a huge lurch, sending her off into the vastness of space.


	3. Chapter 3

Joey watched as Rachel ran away, instantly worried about their separation. What if she didn't make it back to them in time? Or worse, what if she ended up on the pod with the droids? Joey doubted that she would just leave him behind, but a small part of him knew that the chance to go to Tatooine, meet characters way more important than himself, was just too good to pass up. Not to mention that whatever Vader had in store for the passengers of this ship…well roaming the desert with two droids was looking better and better.

"We have to move," Leia said, handing Joey another blaster. "Follow me."

She scaled the edge of the wall, carefully peaking behind any turn they encountered, her blaster ready to shoot. Joey nervously held the blaster, following Leia's lead and hugging the wall, which honestly felt safer than standing out in the open.

Leia stopped suddenly after a few moments, moving her blaster around the wall. "There's one! Set for stuns!" a voice called. Here we go…

Leia began to shoot around the wall and Joey moved to follow her lead, but almost as soon as he did, the figures in white behind a thick cloud of engine steam, shot him and all he saw was black.

* * *

Joey woke up with his hands bound in front of him with some kind of weird metal handcuffs. He was groggy at first, but as soon as his vision cleared, he was as sharp as he was before the Stormtroopers stunned him. Speaking of the Empire goons, four were with them standing in a guard position. Leia was beside him, her wrists bound as well. Her eyes were already open and alert to the situation. Joey opened his mouth to speak, but she held a finger to her lips, shaking her head.

"Get up," one of the Troopers said, walking over to the two of them and kicking Joey's leg with his boot.

Joey complied, only because he knew what was coming. He would need to be extra careful with his words. He only hoped that Rachel had been captured the same way and was able to talk her way out of Vader's clutches. Since Joey had been accompanying the princess of the ship, he found his odds less than equal to his friend's.

They lead Joey and Leia through the maze of hallways, to a brightly lit corridor and Joey had to force himself to hold in a sharp intake of breath. Right before him was a figure clad from head to toe in a black, mechanical suit. Even the helmet, covering his entire face, was black. He stood about seven feet tall, towering over Joey, who was already taller than Leia. He was intimidating, no doubt about that. His very presence seemed to put you right in your place. He emanated fear and anger.

Joey was about to meet Darth Vader.

"Darth Vader, only you could be so bold," Leia said, emitting a great deal more of bravery than Joey felt in that moment. "The Imperial Senate will not sit still for this. When they hear you've attacked a diplomatic—"

"Don't act so surprised, Your Highness," Vader interrupted, his voice reverberating through the corridor. "You weren't on any mercy mission this time. Several transmissions were beaned to this ship by Rebel spies. I want to know what happened to the plans they sent you."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Leia defended. "I'm a member of the Imperial Senate on a diplomatic mission to Alderaan."

"You are part of the Rebel Alliance and a traitor!" Vader said, the anger growing with each syllable, enough to make Joey flinch. His movement was enough to grab Vader's attention and Joey realized for the first time how impossible it was to read Vader. He gave away no body language or facial expression behind that armor. "How did you come to be on this ship?" Vader asked him. Even his tone of voice was difficult to read.

"I—I," Joey stuttered, wondering if Vader would see through the lies he and Rachel had concocted.

"He was a lonely worker we picked up looking to join a crew," Leia said, but Vader raised a threatening hand.

"I did not ask you, Highness. I asked him. He is not dressed in your crew's uniform. You tell me lies." He turned back to Joey. "Now, answer my question."

"I…I'm a stowaway," Joey said, trying not to think. He just said what came to his head, hoping Vader would believe his shaking voice was purely from fear. "Captain Antilles found me on the ship and he and the Princess were deciding what to do with me."

Vader's mask continued to bare onto Joey, who did his best to hold his ground. "Take them away!" Vader yelled.

Joey felt a nudge in his back from one of the Stormtrooper's blasters. He maneuvered the corridors again, making eye contact with Leia only once, who gave him a small wink before they were lead to the hanger's main doors. Through the windows of the hanger, Joey caught a glimpse of the edge of a giant gray structure.

The Death Star.

* * *

Rachel felt the pod hit the ground with a resounding thud. The small contraption had seemingly been made for something like that. She had forced Threepio to shut down, not wanting to listen to his blabbering the whole trip down, leaving her alone with her thoughts. What was going to happen to Joey? Was he going to get captured by Vader, or would the Empire simply…

No, she couldn't even imagine it. She wouldn't imagine it. She thought of other things. What was that gust of wind and where did it come from? How were they supposed to get back? Did it matter if they changed anything? Surely their presence alone would do some sort of damage.

Then, she realized...the only reason the droids were able to escape so easily in the pod was that the Empire was unable to detect any lifeforms on the pod. The droids were not lifeforms, but she certainly was. This would change the Empire's pursuit tactics immediately.

When the pod hit the ground, Threepio jerked awake. "Where have we landed? Artoo, what is going on?"

Rachel found a button beside the door and pressed it, sending the door thudding to the ground. The sun shone bright and she had to squint to let her eyes adjust as she crawled out. Her converse shoe met sand. In fact, all around her was sand. Nothing but orange sand and a giant blue sky severely lacking in clouds.

Threepio continued to bicker with Artoo, but Rachel paid him little mind. She turned her head to the sky, still squinting from the brightness, looking for some sign of being followed, but either there was none, or she just couldn't see it amongst the blue.

She turned back to the droids. "Alright, listen up," she said, reaching back into the pod and grabbing the blaster Leia had given her, sticking it into the waist of her jeans. "The Empire has got to be on our tails by now. That means they could be here any minute. We need to move."

"Move? Move where?" Threepio asked. "If you haven't noticed, we are surrounded by nothing but sand. As a human, your odds of survival are at one hundred and thirty seven to one."

"You know, you're odds never were spot on," she said, looking back up into the sky.

"Would you kindly stop speaking in riddles?"

Rachel ignored him and turned back to the smaller droid. "Alright, Artoo, which way are we headed?"

Beep-boop.

"Artoo wonders why he needs to pick the direction. And I happen to agree with him," Threepio translated.

The answer was that Artoo is the one who finds the Jawas, which leads them to Luke's moisture farm. Rachel had no clue what direction that was in, so her only lead now was to find the Jawas. Both Artoo and Threepio encounter the Jawas, but Rachel didn't want Threepio getting a big head. She also knew that the two droids separated. Maybe it was the fact that she herself had just been separated from her one connection to her home, but separating these two friends was not something she wanted to do.

"Don't you have some kind of radar that detects lifeforms?" Rachel asked, covering her real reason for wanting Artoo to take the lead.

Beep-boop.

"He says he does, but that is hardly of use when there are no lifeforms within its range of detection, save you, miss."

"Look," Rachel said, growing frustrated. "We need to move now. How about we stop arguing with me and just trust that I have some kind of plan. Can we do that?"

Beep-boop. And with that, Artoo was on the move.

"Well, you've won a friend in that one," Threepio said, following Artoo. Rachel gave one last look up to the sky before running after the droids.

* * *

Artoo lead them to a familiar looking chasm of rocks as the sun started to fall. Before entering, Rachel surveyed the land and decided that this must be the spot where Artoo was abducted in the movie.

"Alright, boys," Rachel said, falling back. "I'm gonna wait out here."

Beep-boop.

"He is asking if this has anything to do with the lifeforms he detects inside the rocks," Threepio said. "And I'm not going in without knowing what I might encounter. Really, it's a wonder you trusted this bucket of bolts, miss."

"Threepio, I swear to god…just shut the fuck up." She turned and jogged a good distance away from the droids, watching them closely as the sun sank in the sky. Her mouth was already dry with lack of water and her stomach growled. With all the excitement, she didn't know how long she had been in this galaxy. She didn't know how long it had been since she had eaten or slept.

"You know, that girl confirms everything I've ever thought about humans. They are superior and reckless. She has led us into this trap and now, we are going to die. We seem to have been made to suffer."

She distracted herself by listening to Threepio's complaining. But soon enough, it was silenced. She heard a pang of metal and Artoo started beeping like crazy. Soon enough, he was silenced as well. She risked a peak into the cavern and saw the tiny Jawa creatures picking the droids up and carrying them. Rachel didn't think this far into the plan. What would the Jawas do if they found her? Would they leave her be or would they capture her too? She didn't want to find out.

Rachel recalled the giant sandcrawler they used in the film to transport their droids, thinking something that large couldn't be easily hid. She looked around and decided to climb the edge of the rocky wall. It was hard, and her tired muscles protested, but she fought through the pain, both in her legs and the rough rock cutting into the skin of her bare hands. Eventually, she reached to top, and there it was. The giant sandcrawler.

Rachel scaled the edge of the rock wall and slid down the side. It took so long that by the time she judged it safe enough to descend, the Jawas had loaded Threepio and Artoo onto the barge and had begun to move. Luckily, it moved slowly enough that Rachel could catch it at full running speed, grabbing a handle on the back and pulling herself onto a step.

She exhaled, completely drained of energy. _At least I can sleep now_ , she thought, leaning against the warm metal of the sandcrawler and closing her eyes, willing some sleep to come, if only for a few minutes at a time.

Soon, however, the sun was completely gone. The night grew cold, much too cold for her light sweater and jeans. She tried to wrap the sweater tighter around her shoulders, but it was no use. It wasn't enough to shield her from the wind. Not only that, but it caused the sand below the crawler to whip fiercely through the air, pricking her exposed skin sharply.

It was no use. Too cold, dehydrated, and tired, Rachel's body shut down, falling off the back of the sandcrawler and onto the ground.

* * *

She woke with blisters on her skin, the sun beating down on her once again. She tried to move, but her muscles protested against her. She opened her mouth to call for help, but all that came out was a weak croak. Her tongue felt like sandpaper against the dry walls of her mouth and her teeth scraped against her tongue like sun-baked seashells.

All around her were dunes. Dunes that rippled in the heat of the sun. She opened her mouth to call for help, but what came out might as well have been dust.

In the distance, a figure began to emerge, clad in an oversized black robe. Rachel tried to make sense of it as she felt its hand touch her forehead, but couldn't before she passed out.


	4. Chapter 4

Rachel woke groggily, her head against a hard pillow. It was dark where she was, much darker than the blistering sun she remembered. She was at…the beach? No, she wanted to be at the beach, but Joey had insisted on D.C.

Joey. The gust of wind. The Rebel spaceship. He was still out there, God knew how many miles away. All the memories of the last day flooded inside her and she shot up from the pillow, a blanket falling off her shoulders. Big mistake. Her head began to swim with dizziness she couldn't control and she fell back into the pillow, clutching at her temples.

"Best to take it easy, my young friend," an old, male voice said.

Rachel risked opening her eyes again, to take in her location. It seemed to be a home, rather small with sand colored walls and piles of junk everywhere. It looked like the home of a hoarder.

"Where am I?" she asked, attempting to rise, slower this time, and managing it without her head spinning again.

"I found you out in the dune sea. I have an old…well, let's call it a radar. Good thing I was on alert."

The voice came from the other side of the wall to her left, around a corner. It was old, male, and raspy, as if it didn't get a lot of use. Yet, it was familiar to her.

"Who are you?" she asked hesitantly.

"Oh, wanderers go by many names. Here, they call me Ben."

Rachel nearly choked on her own breath. It was too good to be true. Obi-Wan Kenobi had rescued her. By some strange fate of coincidence, she found the one person on Tatooine, other than Luke, who could help her.

He came around the corner then, his black cloak hanging off his shoulders, but no longer covering his face. "No more questions?"

"Umm…" Rachel muttered, trying to think of something, but the old man beat her to it.

"How about I ask one?" he said. Rachel nodded and he smiled. "How does a young thing like you find yourself lost in the dune sea with nothing but the clothes on her back and a blaster in the waist of her pants?"

Rachel's hand immediately reached behind her for the blaster she had forgotten, but Ben laughed. "Don't worry, its right here." He grabbed the gun off a near table and handed it to her.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," she said, not wanting to tell her Courscant lie again. She was sick of lying.

The old man chuckled, sitting down beside her. "It's alright. You don't have to tell me anything."

"How long have I been here?" she asked.

"Oh, you've been asleep for quite some time. A whole night has gone by."

"A whole night?" she asked, falling back into the pillow.

Suddenly, Ben stood up, rather quick for a man of his age.

"What?" Rachel asked.

"It's my…radar. I'll be back." He pulled the hood of his cloak over his head before Rachel protested.

"Wait, I want to go with you."

"You are unwell."

"I'm durable," she argued, standing and, miraculously, keeping her balance.

He looked like he wanted to argue, but he simply shook his head. "Never could…Alright then."

"Wait, really?"

"You will argue with me until you get your way and time is of the essence. So follow, if you think you must."

Rachel raised an eyebrow, tucking her baster into the butt of her jeans yet again. She was still dizzy and as Ben opened the door to his cramped home and the sun came bursting through, she wasn't eager to venture into it yet again. But she had a hunch now that she knew a whole day had passed since Ben found her in the dune sea that he was on his way to rescue Luke from the Sandpeople. And she wasn't going to miss it.

* * *

"There," Rachel said, pointing towards the Banthas. A group of Sandpeople stood around them, dropping a person wearing white with a tuft of blond hair. Luke Skywalker, though she knew better than to blow her cover.

"Yes. I know that boy," Ben said, squinting and surveying the scene. "Sandpeople are easily frightened, if you can frighten them first." And with that, the old man stood, keeping his hood low and walking into the scene.

Rachel stayed being, watching him, but he did nothing but walk into their territory. Soon, the Sandpeople began to scatter and run in different directions. The Banthas did nothing. And when they were gone, she followed, her raw skin protesting to leaving the shade of the rock he had been hiding behind.

Ben had knelt beside the unconscious Luke and was feeling his face. A series of beeps came from a cavern to their right as she reached the scene and Ben pulled back his hood. Rachel squinted and saw the familiar figure of Artoo in the small cave.

"Hello there," he said. "Come here, my little friend. Don't be afraid."

The droid came out and made a few beep-boops in Rachel's direction. Should she tell Ben the truth about her association with Artoo, she wondered. No, she couldn't do that. Threepio was nearby. He wouldn't keep her cover. It was likely he had already mentioned her to Luke. No, she couldn't keep this from Ben, or Luke when he woke.

"Artoo!" she said excitedly, bending down and wiping sand from the crevices in his dome.

"You know this droid?" Ben asked as Luke began to stir.

"I came to this planet with him and a protocol droid. I didn't think finding them would be this easy." She was amazed at how far she could go without lying.

"Ben?" Luke muttered, coming round. "Ben Kenobi?"

"Rest easy, son. You've had a busy day," Ben said, helping him sit up.

"Boy am I glad to see you," Luke said, before turning his eyes to her. "Are you a friend of Ben's?"

"Ben here seems to have an affinity for rescuing people stuck in this desert. He found me yesterday in the dune sea. I'm Rachel."

"Wait, you're Rachel?" Luke asked. "Wow, how about that?"

"Guess my droids have been looking for me," she said, hoping that was what Luke wanted to hear.

"I've never seen such devotion in a droid before. Threepio said that they were supposed to find you so that you could help Artoo deliver a message."

"Where is Threepio?" she asked, looking around.

"He was with me when we were attacked."

"We must find him quickly," Ben said, rising. "Sandpeople are easily startled, but will soon return with bigger numbers."

Rachel helped Luke to his feet. "Threepio!" she called.

The three, trailed by Artoo searched amongst the caverns and Luke called out, "Over here!"

Rachel, quicker than Ben, followed Luke's voice to a cavern and jumped inside.

"Where am I?" Threepio asked, his left arm very much detached. "I must have taken a bad step."

"Always the drama king," Rachel said, bending down to the droid's fallen level with Luke.

"Oh, Miss Rachel! Thank the maker you're alive."

"Hurry!" Ben called from above, Artoo beeping beside him. "They're on the move."

"Oh, you go on without me. I'm done for."

"No you're not," Luke said. "What kind of talk is that?"

"Don't encourage him," Rachel said, earning a grin from her new friend as they each grabbed onto Threepio and pulled him out of the cavern, following Ben, who was carrying Threepio's missing arm, back to his house.

* * *

"Do you have any tools I could use to patch his arm up?" Luke asked as he and Rachel set Threepio into a chair.

"Oh, I'm glad you know how," Rachel said, doing her best to keep up her part.

"I've always been good at fixing things," he said proudly, puffing out his chest a little.

"Your father was good at fixing things too," Ben said, handing Luke a toolbox.

"You knew my father?"

"Oh yes, through many dangers." Rachel sat down in a chair slowly, reveling in the fact that she was hearing the tales she knew so well, come from the mouth of Obi-Wan Kenobi himself and in person. "We shared many adventures. He was like a brother to me. He saved my life countless times, fought with me in the Clone Wars—,"

"My father didn't fight in the Clone Wars," Luke said, screwing Threepio's arm in securely. "He was a navigator on a space freighter."

"That's what your uncle told you. He didn't hold with your father's ideals. Thought he should have stayed here and not gotten involved."

"You fought in the Clone Wars?" Luke asked.

"Yes, I was once a Jedi Knight, same as your father."

Rachel had been waiting for a moment to interject. To keep up her ruse as the guardian of these droids, who were looking for Obi-Wan, she needed a moment to out Ben as the Kenobi she was looking for, and this was it. "Wait a minute. Back where we found Luke with the Sandpeople, what did he say your surname was?"

Ben didn't answer immediately, so Luke did for him. "Kenobi. Why?"

"Why?" Rachel asked, thrown by his question. Didn't Artoo show Luke part of the message? Wasn't Artoo out looking for Ben?

But Luke had said Artoo had left in search of her. Not Ben. Maybe Artoo hadn't needed to play the message. Maybe Artoo and Threepio had managed to work together to bring Luke to her.

"The message Artoo needs to deliver," she said, hoping Luke would forget her momentary outburst. "It's meant for an old Jedi Knight named Obi-Wan Kenobi. You wouldn't happen to know him would you?"

"Well of course I know him," Ben said. "He's me."

"Well, that works out nicely," I said, gesturing to Artoo. "The message is in there."

"Who is the message from? Why deliver it in a droid?" Luke asked.

"Well, in all honesty, I wasn't supposed to be here with the droids. That's why it's incredibly important that we listen to the message and get going before the Empire finds out where I am."

"You're in the Rebellion?" Luke said, all finished with Threepio, who had shut down.

"Well, it's a recent thing, but yeah. I'm in the Rebellion."

"I'm not sure what the Rebellion wants with me, but I will listen to the message," Ben said, fiddling with Artoo a bit before Leia's hologram appeared.

"Who is she?" Luke asked. "She's beautiful."

Rachel choked down an "ew." Luke didn't know any better.

The three listened to Leia's message, Rachel keeping her eyes on Ben, hoping that her presence wouldn't disturb the plot any more than it already had.

Artoo shut off when the message finished. Ben turned to Rachel. "Who was that?"

"Princess Leia, daughter of Bail Organa of Alderaan. General Kenobi, please. Our ship went under attack and she and my best friend were taken. I have no idea what's happening to them." Partially true. With Joey in the mix, she really didn't have a clue. "We need to head toward Alderaan. That's where the Empire will rest their space station. That's what Artoo carries. Plans for the station that blew holes in Scarif and Jedha. It's not just the Rebellion that needs your help. It's the galaxy!"

"Woah!" Luke interrupted. "This is insane. And it's getting late. I need to go home."

"No, Luke, you can't go home," Rachel blurted, realizing her mistake only too late.

"And why not?" Luke argued.

"There will be Stormtroopers looking for these droids and the lifeform that accompanied them on the escape pod of the ship," Ben said. Rachel turned to him, her eyebrow raising in question. She hadn't said they escaped in a pod. But she held her tongue, judging for the right time to question the old man. "If they find any trace of the droids, it could lead them to your aunt and uncle."

"Wait, Stormtroopers? No, they can't be led home. I need to make sure they're okay."

"Luke, no. Wait!" Ben called, but Luke wasn't taking no for an answer. Out the door he went leaving Rachel and Ben alone with the resting droids.

Ben turned to Rachel. "I suppose you will refuse to answer me if I ask you how you knew Luke should not return home?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

"Oh, you seem to know quite a bit about the Jedi way. I'm sure you know what my answer would be."

"You assume so much about me," she said, crossing her arms. "You knew I would protest to staying here when you went after Luke. You knew I jettisoned an escape pod with these droids and you never once asked me for my name, even though it was the first thing I thought to ask you."

The old man smiled. "When I have a doubt about you, rest assured I will ask about it."

Rachel rolled her eyes, slumping further into her chair. "Are his aunt and uncle alright?" she asked.

"It doesn't work like that," he said.

"What?"

"The Force. You know all about the Force, I take it? Then you should know that I am not omniscient. Far from it. But I suspect his aunt and uncle have suffered because of your presence on this planet and you already knew the answer to this question. You have asked many questions you already knew the answers to. You have been doing it since we met."

"How can you—?"

"You never care about the answer. Only that the question is asked."

She didn't want to argue and risk further exposure. Would Ben even believe her if she told him the truth? Even if he did, what good would it do? No, it was best to stay under the radar. Shift his wondering mind somewhere away from her.

"Let me ask a question I do care about," she said. "Could you have saved his aunt and uncle?"

Ben shook his head. "I could not have done that, for the disturbance I felt in the Force was caused by their deaths, not the anticipation of it."

With that question, she had exposed pat of the truth: she definitely knew more than she was letting on, but Ben didn't seem to care much.


	5. Chapter 5

Joey kicked the door for what seemed like the billionth time. "Dammit!" he screamed, slumping against the wall of his cell and sinking to the floor.

"It's no use," he heard Leia's voice say from the vents. "This is an Imperial Starship. Its schematics were beyond anything I had ever seen. You won't break through the door with just your foot."

"I can't just sit here and do nothing," he argued, stubbornly banding his head against the metal wall. "Rachel is out there somewhere. If anything happens to her, her dad will kill me. He'll roast me like a suckling pig."

"You obviously care about her very much."

"She's like a little sister to me. Always has been."

"How did you meet?"

Joey rolled his eyes. "Are you trying to distract me?"

"I'm trying to keep you from causing injury to your feet."

"I dated her roommate. We became friends."

"That's not a story you hear often."

"Yeah, well, we're unconventional, I guess."

"Are you ready to tell me how you came to be on my ship?"

"I told you, just like I told Captain Antilles. I don't know how we got there."

"Did you just wake up from wherever you were before?"

"It was a gust of wind," he said, caving under her annoying interrogation. "A giant gust of wind, so powerful, we couldn't open our eyes or let go of a bit of railing. Next thing we knew, there were blasters at our heads and we weren't on our…planet anymore."

Joey expected Leia to continue, but she had gone quiet. Joey crawled over to the vent between their cells and pressed his ear up to it. He could barely make out a deep voice speaking to the princess. "Now, your highness, we will discuss the location of your hidden rebel base."

Vader.

Joey closed the slots of the vent, not wanting to hear whatever they were doing to Leia. If they had cut it from the movie, it was probably best left unseen and unheard.

He waited for what seemed like a day, knawing at the hangnail by his thumb with his teeth, drawing blood. Pulling gently at the hairs of his beard. Pulling his glasses off and cleaning the lenses meticulously. It was all he could think to do to distract himself without going batshit on the cell door again.

But it opened soon enough. And there he was again, that impossibly tall machine of a man, towering over Joey, who bolted to his feel immediately.

"How are you here?" Vader asked him.

"I—I don't understand," Joey stuttered. But Vader didn't repeat himself. Joey felt a tingling sensation around his neck, like gentle fingers glazing over his skin. But soon, the feeling grew tighter and tighter until Joey found himself clutching at hands that where not there, but were closing his windpipe, leaving just enough air for him to release words.

"I will not ask again. You did not stowaway on that ship. Answer my question, Joey Jay."

"I…don't…know…" Joey choked out, trying to pry at the invisible hand with his own fingers, but it did no good. "I…swear…that's…the truth."

"And what about your friend? You didn't come here alone."

"Gone…she's…gone. Don't…know…where."

"Your life seems to be quite the mystery, General Jay."

General? "Please…can't…breathe…"

"Isn't that rather the point?"

"Vader, release him," another voice said, entering the cell. It was General Tarkin. "He may be useful to us in the future. Especially when dealing with the princess."

Slowly, the invisible hand around his neck loosened and Joey fell to the ground, gasping for air. It took a minute for Joey to regain his composure, and even then, it was only enough to turn his watering eyes up towards Vader's helmet.

"You will answer my questions," Vader said before storming out of the cell, the door sliding shut with a quick thud.

Joey crawled over to the vent, opening the slots once again. "Leia?" he said. It came out as a weak croak.

"I'm alright," she said quietly. To Joey, it sounded like she was trying to hide tears.

* * *

Rachel didn't like being cooped up in Ben's house. She finally understood what it would be like if people found out that she knew this story, how everything would turn out. Ben knew too much. How? She wasn't sure, but she wasn't exactly keen on finding out, either. No, she finally had discovered a purpose to being crash-landed on Tatooine. She somehow had to find her way back to Joey. If she could do that, they could figure out a way home. This galaxy, the more she saw of it, was too big for them.

She walked for about an hour, keeping her blaster at bay in case any Sandpeople were to pop up out of nowhere. Luckily for her, she was in the clear.

In the distance, she saw a familiar sight. The Sandcrawler belonging to the Jawas. Oh, no. She didn't want to see that. If it confirmed anything, it was that the Stormtroopers were here and they were looking for her and the droids.

A soft buzzing sounded in the distance and she turned to find Luke in a speeder, driving right towards her. "Are you alright?" she asked as he parked and hopped out.

"They're gone," he said. She could tell the boy, only a few years younger than her, was doing his best to hold back tears, to keep his voice steady. "Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru."

"Luke, I'm…I'm sorry." And even though it would have happened anyway, she couldn't help but feel at least a tiny bit responsible.

"I want to go with you and Ben to Alderaan," he said. "There's nothing left for me here."

She risked a small smile. "I think the Rebellion would love a guy like you on their pilot squad."

He simply nodded. "We should get back to Ben's. It's getting dark and we'll need to leave first thing in the morning if we're to find a pilot in Mos Eisley."


	6. Chapter 6

The night passed much too slowly for Rachel. She would have preferred to have set out for Mos Eisley that night, but Ben had insisted that travel would have been better spent in the early hours of the morning, when the Sandpeople were most at bay.

After a quick breakfast of what Rachel could only assume was the _Star Wars_ version of oatmeal and some dried fruits, they were off in Luke's speeder, Ben in the passenger seat with Luke driving. Rachel had been crammed into the back with the droids, but she didn't complain. It was far superior to the only other form of transport she had experienced on Tatooine.

To pass the time, Luke began to ask questions of his father.

"He was the best star-pilot in the galaxy," Ben said. "Not unlike yourself, I imagine."

"How did my father die?"

"A young Jedi named Darth Vader, who was a pupil of mine until he turned to evil, helped the Empire hunt down and destroy the Jedi Knights. He betrayed and murdered your father. Now the Jedi are all but extinct. Vader was seduced by the dark side of the Force."

"The Force?" Luke asked.

Ben turned his head back toward Rachel, a small grin there. "I believe our new friend could explain that one to you."

Rachel rolled her eyes. "The Force is…energy, I guess. It resides in all living things. It fuels a Jedi's power."

"It binds us with the galaxy," Ben finished.

In the distance, a small town became visible in the blinding sunlight against the sand. "Mos Eisley Spaceport," Ben said. "You'll never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy."

"There are going to be Stormtroopers all over the port," Rachel warned. "They're going to be looking for two droids and a human accomplice. Luckily, they know nothing about me. They don't know my name or even my gender. So hopefully we can make it through easily."

Luke and Ben nodded in agreement as they entered the port city. They made it about three feet before getting stopped by a patrolling Stormtrooper. "How long have you had these droids?" he asked.

"About three seasons," Luke lied easily.

"They are for sale if you want them," Ben said.

The Stormtrooper's mask turned to face Rachel and a shiver went down her spine. She had said that the Troopers wouldn't know anything about her, but in that moment, she had a sickening feeling that they knew exactly who they were looking for.

"What is your name?" the Trooper asker her.

"Kate," she said, using the name she always gave gross guys who hit on her at bars.

"Show me your identification."

"You don't need to see her identification," Ben muttered with a wave of his hand.

"We don't need to see her identification," the Trooper repeated.

"These are not the droids you're looking for."

"These aren't the droids we're looking for."

"We can go about our business."

"They can go about their business."

"Move along."

"Move along," the Trooper said, waving them through the checkpoint. "Move along."

The group stayed silent until Luke was able to park the speeder. Rachel jumped out immediately, her legs cramped from being squished between the two droids.

"I don't understand," Luke said to Rachel. "I thought you said they wouldn't know who you were. They jumped at the chance to check your identification. Do you even have identification?"

"No. None that would work here, at least," she said.

"It isn't her fault, Luke," Ben said, walking to their side of the speeder. "We carried two droids, exactly what they were looking for. Of course they would want to see identification."

"But they didn't ask for ours. Only her's."

Rachel couldn't deny that he made a point. She tried to think back to the dialogue in the film and she was almost certain that the Troopers asked for Luke's ID. What had made her a target? Only two people knew she had even been with the droids when they stowed away in the pod, Joey and Leia. And neither knew she had gone with them.

"Look, we don't have time to argue about this right now," Rachel said. "What we need to do is find a pilot and get the hell off this planet." She turned to Ben. "Where would we find a pilot?"

"The cantina over there is likely to have a few who will be willing to help us with little question," Ben said, heading toward a hole-in-the-wall, leaving Rachel and Luke to follow.

"What happened back there?" Luke asked her.

"I told you, I don't know."

"No, with the Stormtrooper. How Ben made him leave us alone."

"Oh, that. A Jedi mind trick."

"So he can do that to anybody?"

"Only the weak-minded."

They walked into the dark club, music sounding throughout, giving Rachel a touch of anxiety. She didn't like loud, enclosed spaces. Especially if they were full of people. Everywhere she moved, she felt bodies brush up against her. It was the first time she was surrounded by people since coming to this galaxy. And not just people. There were creatures—aliens—everywhere. All kinds.

Luke started toward the bar when the tender started to yell "Hey! We don't' serve their kind here."

"What?" Luke asked.

"The droids. They'll have to wait outside."

"Luke nodded and turned to the droids, who had been following Rachel. "Listen, why don't you wait outside. We don't want any trouble."

"I quite agree, sir," Threepio said, turning around with Artoo following him.

Luke made for the bar again, but Rachel remembered what happened in the film, how Ben had to saber an arm off a guy. As cool as that had been on screen, she wasn't really keen to see it happen right in front of her and she spotted the pig-looking human all too soon.

"Actually, Luke," she said. "Why don't we wait outside with the droids?"

"Don't you want anything?" he asked, gesturing toward the bar.

"No. I wouldn't know what to order anyways. I think we should wait outside."

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"No, actually. It's just…claustrophobic in here."

"Are you claustrophobic? I thought you landed here in a space pod."

"I'm going outside," she said, not wanting to wait any longer.

To her small surprise, he followed her back to the speeder where the droids were chatting. "Rachel, your face is really red."

"Yeah. I…I don't like strangers touching me. You can't avoid it in a place like that."

"So that's what scares you," Luke said, leaning against the speeder.

"Huh?"

"I was starting to think you were fearless. But you have claustrophobia."

"I can handle small spaces, but fill them with people and I'm out."

Luke smiled, running a hand through his hair. "I don't like water."

"Really?" Rachel asked. This had never been mentioned, to her knowledge. She had started to think nothing would surprise her about these characters, but there was still stuff to figure out.

"Yeah. I guess that happens when you grow up on a desert planet."

"How'd you find out about it, then?"

"My friend Wedge has a lot of money. His family had access to a watering hole. Sometimes my friends and I would go play there when we were younger. I always hated it. Never could swim."

She didn't really know what to say to that. She couldn't tell him she was surprised, because she couldn't think of a valid reason why she shouldn't be. Luckily, Luke kept talking. "Ben said he found you in the dune sea."

"Yup."

"I just…I get the feeling you guys have known each other for a long time, though."

"Impossible," Rachel said. "I've never been to this planet."

"But Ben didn't always live here."

"He said he's lived here since you were born. You're only a few years younger than me. I've never met Ben. He's never met me. I only know the stories about him from the Rebellion."

"How do you know how old I am?"

"Lucky guess?" she tried.

"How old are you?"

"Twenty-three."

Luke looked annoyed, but for a small smile on his lips. "Good guess, then. I'm nineteen."

Rachel saw Ben come out of the cantina, followed by another sight she had to control herself over. Han Solo and Chewbacca followed him out of the doorway and over to the speeder.

"There you two are," Ben said. "This is Captain Solo and his first mate, Chewbacca."

"So, you three are looking for passage to the Alderaan system?" Han asked, not waiting for them to introduce themselves.

"That's right," Luke said. "And we need it to be fast."

"Fast?" Han said. "You ever heard of the Millennium Falcon?"

Luke started to say no, but Rachel interrupted. "The ship that made the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs?"

Han exchanged a look with Chewbacca before turning back to her. "What did you say your name was, sweetheart?"

"I didn't," she said, crossing her arms over her chest. "So, are you gonna take us to Alderaan or not?"

"What's the cargo?"

"The three of—," Ben started, but Han cut him off.

"She can answer, if that's alright, old man."

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Me, the kid, the old man, and two droids. No Imperial entanglements and no questions asked."

"Well, that's the real trick, isn't it?" Han said, his posture loosening and a grin entering his face. "And it'll cost you extra. Ten thousand."

"Ten thousand?" Luke said. "We could almost buy our own ship for that!"

"And who's gonna fly it, kid? You?"

"You bet I could. I'm not such a bad pilot myself!"

"Luke, calm down," Rachel said, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Can we do that, Ben?" she asked.

"We haven't that much with us now, but we can give you two thousand up front and fifteen when we reach Alderaan."

Han's face betrayed his surprise for the first time. "Seventeen, huh? Alright, you and the lady have got yourselves a deal. We're docked in hanger bay ninety-four. We'll leave when you're ready." And with that, Han turned and walked back into the cantina, Chewbacca following.

"You'll have to sell your speeder," Ben said to Luke.

"That's alright. I'm never coming back to this planet again."

Rachel decided to stay with the droids while Luke and Ben found a pawn shop. She and the droids walked aimlessly through the streets until she spotted Stormtroopers in the crowd. "Get in here, boys," she said, pulling them into a crevice of wall.

"…two droids and a girl. Brown hair, short stature, and carrying a blaster. Goes by the name Rachel Compton." one of the Stormtroopers said, questioning a pedestrian.

Rachel's stomach made a nasty flip. They knew her name. How could they possibly know her name? Then it came to her: Joey. They had to have captured Joey and questioned him. There was no other explanation.

As soon as the coast was clear, she grabbed Threepio's arm and started pulling him to the docking bay. "We've gotta move, guys. Luke and Ben should be there by now."

* * *

"What a piece of junk!" Luke said, taking in the sight of the Millennium Falcon. Rachel on the other hand had to disagree. Seeing the ship with her own eyes was just as amazing as meeting all of these characters. She doubted it would ever get dull.

Han appeared then, coming out of the boarding ramp. "She'll make point five beyond the speed of light. She may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts, kid. I've added some special modifications myself."

Chewbacca popped his head out and called for them.

"We're in a bit of a rush, so if you'll hurry aboard, we'll get out of here," Han said, placing a hand on the bottom of Rachel's back and urging her to the ramp.

She jumped out of his grasp. "I can walk, thanks."

Han chuckled. "Sure thing, sweetheart."

Behind her, Ben chuckled. "What?" she asked.

"I admire your spunk," he said, passing her and boarding the ship. Rachel watched him, getting that feeling again that he wasn't telling her exactly what was going through his head.

"Over there!" a voice behind her shouted. "It's the girl! Rachel Compton!

By some instinct, Rachel pulled the blaster from her pants and shot in the direction of the voice, seeing a Trooper fall as the red pulse of light hit his chest. The other Troopers fired at her and Han joined the gunfight. "Chewie, get us ready!" he called, grabbing Rachel's forearm and pulling her into the ship.

"Hands off, Space Ranger!" she said, pulling herself from his grip.

"I just saved your life, sweetheart. The least you could do is say thank you! I take it you're Rachel Compton, the girl those Troopers have been looking for for two days?"

"And what if I am? You won't take us to Alderaan?"

"Oh, no. I'm taking you to Alderaan. I need that money. But since I'm harboring a fugitive of the Empire, maybe you might want to tell me why it is they want you so bad?"

"No deal," she said. She knew she could trust Han, but she had to earn that trust and right now, it wasn't going in either direction.

Han starred her down until a blast hit the ship, bringing him out of his state. "Chewie, get us out of here!" he called, running through the ship. Rachel followed him to the cockpit Where Ben and Luke were behind Chewie, who was pulling the ship off the ground. "It looks like an Imperial cruiser. Oh, sweetheart, you must be hotter than I thought. The Empire really wants their hands on you. Try and hold them off, Chewie. Angle the deflector shield while I make the calculations for the jump to light speed. Stay sharp! There are two more coming in; they're going to try to cut us off."

"Why don't you outrun them?" Luke asked. "I thought you said this thing was fast."

"Watch your mouth, kid, or you're gonna find yourself floating home. We'll be safe enough once we make the jump to hyperspace. Besides, I know a few maneuvers. We'll lose 'em."

Out of the front window, Rachel could see Imperial cruisers encircling them, ready to shoot them all down. She noticed Han grin. "Here's where the fun begins," he said, gripping his controls tighter.

"How long before you can make the jump to lightspeed?" Ben asked.

"It'll take a few moments to get the coordinates from the nav-computer."

Blasters began to hit the Falcon, sending Rachel's body into a ricochet around the cockpit. She grabbed hold of the back of Han's seat, gripping hard to keep herself from falling.

"Are you kidding?" Luke shouted. "At the rate they're gaining—,"

"Traveling through hyperspace isn't like dusting crops, boy! Without precise calculations we could fly right through a star or bounce too close to a supernova and that'd end your trip real quick, wouldn't it?"

"What's that flashing?" Luke asked, pointing to the console.

"We're losing our deflector shield. You three go strap yourselves in, I'm making the jump to lightspeed."

Rachel didn't need any further prompting, She followed the sound of Threepio's complaining voice to the sitting area of the Falcon, sitting in the nearest seat and strapping the belt securely around her before a giant wave of vertigo crashed over her and she felt the ship move into lightspeed.


	7. Chapter 7

Joey needed food. He hadn't eaten in two days. What bit of hope that was left inside him when Stormtroopers opened his cell door, wishing for something to eat, was squashed when they forced him to his feet, securing cuffs around his wrists and leading him into the hallway and through the corridors of the Death Star.

The only thing that gave him comfort was that Leia was in front of him, her own pair of Troopers guiding her as his did to him. He wished she would turn and give him some sign of comfort, but she did no such thing. She kept her head high and dignified, but for Joey, that was the next best thing she could do. If she could keep her cool, so could he.

They led Joey and Leia to a massive room with a window looking out into the vastness of space. In the distance, surrounded by the white flecks of stars, Joey could see a planet, green and small. Alderaan. Vader and Tarkin were also there. While Tarkin was simply angry-looking old man, Vader was still an enigma. Joey couldn't make hide nor hair of what was going on in Vader's mind without facial expression or body language. It was all hidden beneath that armor.

He had thought long and hard about the things Vader had said to him. He had called him a general, which Joey knew was impossible. But try as he might to come up with a solution to this question, Joey couldn't find an explanation.

"Governor Tarkin," Leia said, bringing Joey back from his thoughts. "I should have expected to find you holding Vader's leash. I recognized your foul stench when I was brought on board."

"Charming to the last, Princess Leia," Tarkin said. "However, I do not have time for your playful antics today." He turned to Joey. "Why so quiet, General Jay?"

Joey didn't know what to say, so he kept his mouth shut, hoping that silence would get him further than asking questions that might betray what they thought of him.

"Very well," Tarkin said in response to his silence. "As you probably know, Rebel spies secured themselves a copy of the plans to this battle station. But what you do not know, Rebel scum, is that, since then, this battle station has become fully operational. And with that growth, a statement must be made on behalf of the Empire."

"The more you tighten your grip," Leia said. "The more star systems will slip through your fingers."

Tarkin grinned. "Ah, you may think so. But not after they witness the power of this battle station. Perhaps the demonstration be made on your home planet of Alderaan."

"No!" Leia said, attempting to move forward, but getting stopped by the Troopers. "Alderaan is peaceful. We have no weapons."

"Perhaps you or General Jay have a better target in mind? A military target? Tell me the location of the Rebel base."

"Leia," Joey said, turning to her for the first time. "They're going to do it anyway."

"He speaks," Vader said, stepping forward. "Perhaps your solitude has broken you, general."

"Even if I give you the location of the Rebel base, you will still destroy Alderaan," Joey said. "So why would I tell you? Any location we would have set up would be too remote a location for you to make your statement. You'll blow up Alderaan because you have no heart.

"But here's the thing the Empire hasn't considered." He took a deep breath, hoping, by some chance that his words would make at least some small impact. "If you go blowing up planets left and right, who will you rule over when there are no planets left to piss you off and you are left with nothing but a hunk of metal in space?"

Leia didn't even try to hide her surprise. Joey held his breath, waiting for Tarkin or Vader to reply.

"Well, well, well," Tarkin said, turning to Vader. "Seems your old friend is still quite the negotiator." He turned back to Joey. "But, unfortunately, general, coming out of hiding after all these years to join the Rebellion was not the wisest of choices. Am I correct in assuming that you and the princess will continue to keep up your resistance in hiding the location of the Rebel base?"

Joey didn't respond.

"Very well, charge the weapon—,"

"Dantooine," Leia blurted. "They're on Dantooine."

Tarkin lowered his hand and smiled. "You see, Lord Vader. One of them can be accommodating." He looked back at the men at the control panels. "Continue with the operation. Fire when ready."

"No!" Leia screamed.

"You should listen to your friend here, princess. Dantooine is indeed too remote to make a statement. However, Alderaan will make our message to the galaxy quite clear."

The floor beneath Joey feet began to vibrate and he looked away. He had tried to save Alderaan as best he could, but it was no use. Behind his lids, great volumes of green light shown before the sound of a laser blast took over his ears. Soon, his forearms were gripped again and he was brought back to the detention level and shoved right back into his cell.

It seemed like hours before the silence was broken. Joey nearly broke with the memory of the vibration of the laser, the pulsing light that shone through his eyelids. He remembered Obi-Wan's words from the film.

 _It's as if a million voices cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced_.

What was it like to have been on that planet, seen the light coming towards you and not even have time to realize that your life was going to end?

"You knew," a small voice said.

It was Leia. She had finally found the will to speak to him. And he didn't have it in him to lie anymore.

"Yes."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because then I would have had to explain how I knew. And there was nothing either of us could have done to stop them."

"How did you know?"

"Please don't ask me that."

"Then answer why you falsified your name to Captain Antilles and myself."

"What?"

"You take on a persona that is not yours. Do not think I didn't notice them call you general."

"I don't know why they were calling me general, Leia—,"

"A liar like you should be blasted for using his name."

Joey's head flew up at that. "Whose name?"

"General Dresden Jay from the Clone Wars. He fought alongside my father in the Fall of the Republic."

"Dresden?" he asked slowly. Leia didn't know this, but Joey's middle name was Dresden. Joseph Dresden Jay. But Vader had called him Joey, not Dresden.

What was going on?

"Leia, please…I know you're upset…heartbroken. But try to see our common ground. We are both prisoners of the Empire. We are united by a common enemy."

"Do not think I can't see your value. A man who somehow knows the future."

This was bad. He didn't want to lie anymore, but things were becoming so complicated. And they would grow even more complicated if Leia knew that he and Rachel knew the future…and the past. The past was just as important.

"My uncle is a senator's assistant on Courscant. I knew what the Death Star was built to do before ever boarding it. He told me. When I saw Alderaan in the distance, I knew what would happen."

"Then why did they call you general?"

"I told you, I don't know. But I guess I need to find out. My name isn't Dresden, it's Joey."

It took her a long time to respond. Joey couldn't stand the silence and this time, he was the one to break it. "Leia—,"

"Please, Joey," she said. "Please, for now, just leave me alone."

And he did.


	8. Chapter 8

Rachel paced the length of the corridor. She was cold. Her fingers were red and there were goosebumps all up and down her arms. It was warmer in the common area of the Falcon, even warmer in the cockpit, but she didn't care. Not since getting stuck in the dune sea had she had a moment to herself and fighting for her life in the desert wasn't her ideal place for getting her thoughts straight.

"Ever heard the phrase 'my home is your home?'" a deep voice asked, making her jump.

It was Han, leaning against a doorway, his arms crossed over his chest. "Of course," she said.

"Well, on this ship, that ain't the case, sister. Can't just have you wandering around, looking in places you shouldn't be looking."

"I just wanted—,"

"Some alone time? Yeah, I get it. Running around with Grandpa and his sidekick Boy Wonder must be tiring."

"You shouldn't call them names."

He chuckled. "Why?"

"You never know when one might be listening."

"They're in the lounge playing with some kind of glow sword."

"Doesn't matter."

He rolled his eyes. "You too, huh?"

"What?"

"You believe in the Force."

"Course I do."

"And why is that?"

"I've seen it. It's pretty cool."

He looked like he was gonna ask more, but his expression changed as did his subject. "So how does someone like you get stuck with Grandpa and Boy Wonder anyway? And a trip to Alderaan, of all places?"

"I said no questions. That was part of our deal."

Han smirked. "Can't blame a guy for trying."

"Don't know why you'd even care," she said, wrapping her sweater even tighter around her chest. "This is just a job to you, right?"

"It's a job I need. If something goes wrong, I don't get paid."

Everything was going to go wrong, if the story kept its pacing. Han would be frozen in carbonite before he could repay Jabba the Hutt with the money he would earn from this job.

"You've got a boyfriend waiting for you on Alderaan," Han said. It wasn't a question.

"Guess again, scruffy."

"Who you callin' scruffy?"

She ignored him, turning away and facing the window that looked out into the vast black of space, speckled with white dots of stars.

"Look, I was serious before," Han said, dropping the insult, his tone becoming slightly gentler. "I can't have you wandering around the Falcon. You might find something you weren't supposed too."

"Fine," she agreed, turning and following Han back to the common area of the ship.

Threepio and R2 were engaged with Chewbacca in a holographic game table. Luke had a mask over his face, battling a small floating droid with a lightsaber overseen by Ben.

"Remember Luke. Let go your conscience self and act on instinct. Your eyes can deceive you. Don't trust them." The droid floated ominously around Luke, threatening with its laser. "Stretch out your feelings," Ben prompted.

The droid shot out several blasts of red laser and Luke deflected them all with the blue lightsaber.

"See?" Ben said, taking the mask off Luke's face. "You can do it."

"Deflecting those lasers with a mask on?" Han joked. "I call it luck."

"In my experience, there's no such thing as luck," Ben said, sitting back down.

"Going good against a droid is one thing, but against the living? I'd take my blaster over anything, any day."

"You don't believe in the Force?" Luke asked.

"Kid, hokey religions aren't really my thing. Your friend here already tried to sell me a compelling argument, but I'm just not buying it." A beeping came from the cockpit. "Looks like we're coming in on Alderaan," he informed them, heading towards the front of the Falcon."

Rachel decided to follow Han as Chewbacca came in behind her. She sat down in the passenger seat behind the Wookie. Outside, there were rocks. Tons of rocks all around them. Space debris that littered in every direction. So it had happened. This did nothing to confirm nor deny that Joey was alive or not. Only that the story was somehow still on track.

"Aw, we've come out of hyperspace into a meteor shower. Some kind of asteroid collision. It's not on any of the charts."

"What's going on?" Luke asked, entering the cockpit and sitting in the seat beside Rachel.

"Our position is correct," Han said. "Except, no Alderaan."

"What?" Ben asked from behind her.

"It ain't there," Han repeated. "It's totally been blown away."

"What?" Luke nearly shouted. "How?"

"The Empire," Rachel said. "I told you, the plans inside R2. That's what they built."

"You knew this would happen," Ben said, so quiet, she doubted even Luke heard him in his flustering.

Rachel didn't reply. She didn't have it in her to lie her way out of this one.

"There's another ship coming in," Han said.

"Maybe they know what happened." Luke suggested.

"It's an Imperial fighter."

Chewbacca let out a small growl and Rachel spotted the small ship in the distance.

"It followed us!" Luke said.

"Couldn't have," Han said. "It's a short range fighter. But it doesn't make any sense. There aren't any ranges out here."

"Yes there is," Rachel said, spotting it in the right corner of the window. "It's over there."

"That?" Han said. "That's a moon."

"No, it's not. It's a—"

"Space station," Ben said, cutting her off.

"It's too big to be a space station," Han argued.

"Don't you get it?" Rachel nearly yelled. "The Empire has been constructing this for nineteen years. They stole vast amounts of kyber crystals from the Temples on Jedha. That's why there's no Alderaan. That's a space station created to destroy planets. And that's exactly what they did."

For the first time, Rachel caught Han Solo speechless. But it didn't last long. "Chewie, full reverse. Lock in the auxiliary power."

The Falcon shuddered, but made no attempt to turn around.

"Why are we still moving towards it?" Luke said.

"They've got us locked into a tractor beam. They're pulling us in!"

"There must be something you can do!"

"You're right, kid. I'm gonna ride it out and put up a fight. I'm in full power. I can't fight a tractor beam. But you can bet your ass I can fight some Storm Troopers."

"You can't win," Ben said. "But there are alternatives to fighting."

"Yeah, like what?"

Tarkin watched Vader pace the room angrily. In was not in Tarkin's nature to pace. He was calm, collected. Vader was forceful and angry. So full of anger. But as Officer Cass gave his report to the Grand Moff, Tarkin found it difficult to control the fire inside him towards the Rebel General and the Alderaan Princess.

"Our scout ships have reached Dantooine. They found the remains of a Rebel base, but they estimate that it has been deserted for some time. They are now conducting an extensive search of the surrounding systems," Cass reported.

"She lied!" Tarkin yelled. "She lied to us!"

"I told you, she would never consciously betray the Rebellion. The fact that General Jay did not argue with her for revealing the location should have been your first clue, Tarkin," Vader condescended.

"Terminate them!" he yelled. "Immediately."

"No," Vader said. "Terminate the princess. I don't care about her. But Jay is mine. I will figure out how he is here."

"Does it matter?" Tarkin snapped.

Vader turned his masked face onto Tarkin, and Tarkin could feel the aforementioned anger radiate inside that suit of armor. "It matters more than you could ever even comprehend."

A beep sounded on the intercom. "General Tarkin?"

"Yes," he said, stepping forward to speak into the microphone.

"We've captured a freighter entering the remains of the Alderaan system. Its markings match those of a ship that blasted its way out of Mos Eisley."

"It's her," Vader said. "Jay's friend. She must be trying to return the stolen plans to him and the princess."

Vader left Tarkin in the command room, making his way to the docking bay where a large, pitiful-looking ship was docked. Stormtroopers were standing outside the open docking bay. "What have you found?" he asked them.

"There's no one on board, sir. According to the long, the crew abandoned ship right after takeoff. It must be a decoy, sir. Several of the escape pods have jettisoned."

"Did you find any droids?"

"No, sir. If there were any on board, they must have jettisoned."

"Send a scanning crew on board. I want every part of this ship checked."

"Yes, sir."

Vader made to leave the hanger bay, but something stopped him. A wave of familiarity, similar to the one that befell him when he found Dresden Jay, came over him. But this was different. This one could have belonged to…

No. It couldn't have been. He was nothing more than a legend now.

Then again…so had Dresden Jay been mere days ago.

Rachel felt awful about stripping the dude down to his skivvies, but she needed something to disguise herself. Hand and Luke stepped into the Stormtrooper suits as she pulled on the gray uniform of a docking bay peon. Ben insisted he didn't need a disguise.

"They're gonna notice these coms aren't working," Han said putting on the helmet and stepping outside onto the hanger. Rachel could see him point at his head and nod.

"We've got to go," Rachel said, stepping out of the hanger and hoping her disguise was enough. Luke, Ben, Chewie and the droids followed, Han taking the lead and bringing them to a door. When it opened, the Gantry Officer on the other side looked ready to cry for help before Chewie flattened him with one plummet to the head. The Officer's friend by the computer pulled out a blaster, but Han beat him to it. The party ran into the room, locking the door behind them.

Luke pulled off his helmet. "You know, between his howling and your blasting, it's a wonder the whole station doesn't know we're here."

Han pulled his helmet off as well. "Bring 'em on. I'd prefer a straight fight to all this sneaking around."

"No you wouldn't," Rachel said, pulling her blaster out and holding it tight in her hand. "Trust me."

Han shifted. "You know something, sweetheart? I don't trust you. You led me and Chewie on a suicide mission to a planet you knew was gonna get blown up and don't act like you didn't. I ain't stupid. And you won't even tell me why we're here, even after all I've done to help keep you safe."

"This station!" she said, louder than she intended. "This station is why we're here! That droid over there is carrying the schematics to this station, which is the only clue the Rebellion has to blowing it up, just like it blew up Jedha, Scarif, and now Alderaan. And it'll blow up more if we don't get it to the Rebellion, because that's what these people do. They attempt to control anything and everything they can in the name of peace, when it's really in the name of dictatorship and absolute control. They couldn't control Bail Organa and his daughter, so they blew up their planet. That's why we're here, Captain Solo. So you can either help us, or you can go back to running and smuggling…if you can get your ship back."

That shut him up. Han sat in a chair, running a gloved hand through his hair. Ben starred at her and she noticed, raising an eyebrow. But the old man's gaze didn't falter.

"Master Luke, Artoo has found the computer outlet," Threepio said. "He says he's found the main computer to power the tractor beam that's holding the ship here. He'll try to make the precise location appear on the monitor. The tractor beam is coupled to the main reactor in seven locations. A power loss at one of the terminals will allow the ship to leave."

Ben and Rachel finally broke their gaze. "You lot won't be able to help me, I'm afraid," Ben said. He walked closer to Rachel, grabbing her and pulling her away from the group. "If I leave now, will we ever meet again?"

Rachel found herself dumbstruck. If she had any doubts about him knowing her secret, that was gone now. "Ben…why am I here?"

The old man, despite himself, grinned. "Only you can answer that, but I think you will fit the pieces of the puzzle together with Joey's help. And yes, I know about Joey," he said, noticing her eyes widen at the name of her friend. "If I am to never see you again…please know that I'm sorry I couldn't keep my promise."

"What? What are you talking about?"

"Don't tell Luke the truth of your knowledge," Ben said, ignoring the question. "Or anyone. Goodbye, Rachel Compton."


	9. Chapter 9

She leaned against the wall as Ben said his piece to Luke. Ben said she would need Joey's help. That meant he was alive. The Tantive was gone, she had no doubt that Vader had destroyed it and killed everyone there, which only meant one thing: he had to have been captured by Vader and taken here with Leia.

Chewie let out a growl as Ben ran out a door, bringing Rachel out of her reverie.

"Boy, you said it, Chewie," Han said. "Where did you two dig up that old fossil?"

Rachel rolled her eyes, her mind drifting back to Joey as Luke said, "Ben is a great man."

"Yeah, great at getting us into trouble."

Rachel ignored them, walking over to Artoo and bending down to the droid's height. "Artoo, I need you to scan the prison cells. Who do they have locked up in here?"

Artoo beeped in affirmation as he plugged into the port on the wall twisting as Han and Luke continued to argue behind her. But they were soon silenced by Artoo's frantic beeping.

"What did you find, Artoo?" Rachel asked.

Luke started spewing questions immediately, but Rachel held up a hand and turned to Threepio. "He says "he found her'," he translated. "And he keeps repeating 'she's here'."

"Who's here?" Han asked.

"Princess Leia, Captain Solo," Threepio answered.

"She's here!" Luke yelled in excitement. But Rachel grabbed at his arm and squeezed it.

"What about Joey, Artoo?" she asked. "Is there anyone named Joey in the system?"

"Who the hell is Joey?" Han asked. "Is this the boyfriend you don't have?" But Rachel ignored him as Artoo beeped his response.

"He says there is no one named Joey in the system. Other than the princess, there is one other prisoner. His name is Dresden Jay."

"Dresden?" Rachel asked, but Han was on his feet faster than her brain could compute the name.

"Something's wrong with the droid," Han said. "There's no way Dresden Jay is locked up in this place."

Then it clicked. Joey's middle name was Dresden. Joseph Dresden Jay.

"Who's Dresden Jay?" Luke asked before she could.

"He's a legend. A pilot and captain from Corellian. He fought in the Clone Wars and disappeared after the rise of the Empire."

"What happened to him?"

"No one knows. Rumor was that his cousin or someone had died in the wars. It left him broken, so he vansied into thin air."

"What cell are they locked in, Artoo?" Rachel asked.

"Detention blocks A-A-twenty-three and A-B-twenty-three. I'm afraid Princess Leia is scheduled to be terminated."

"No!" Luke exclaimed, but Rachel ignored this.

"But not Dresden Jay?"

"Look, I already told you," Han said. "Whoever they've got locked up with this princess isn't the real Jay and it certainly isn't your pal Joey."

"Doesn't matter if he's Dresden Jay or not. He's an enemy of the Empire, which makes him our ally."

"The Hutts on Tatooine are enemies of the Empire, but I don't see you running to them for help," Han argued. "Look, Rachel," Han said, using her name for the first time since she had met him. "The old man told us to stay put. We don't need to be running after the Empire's prisoners."

"We can't stay put!" Luke said. "You heard the droids. They're gonna kill the princess!"

"So?" Han said, sitting back down.

"The droids belong to her. She sent Rachel and them to Tatooine to find Ben and bring them to Alderaan. She's the reason we're here!"

"Even more reason to stay put. She got us into this mess. I'm not going anywhere."

"They're going to execute her. Look, a few minutes ago you said you didn't want to just wait here to be captured. Now all you want to do is stay?"

"Marching into the detention area after a ghost and an outlaw princess wasn't what I had in mind."

"But they're going to kill her!"

"Better her than me."

"Jesus Christ!" Rachel yelled.

That shut them up. All heads in the room turned in her direction. "Dresden Jay is my friend," she said. Han started to protest again, but she kept going. "His name is Joey Jay. Joey Dresden Jay. He's not a famous space pilot, but he is my friend and I'm going to rescue him and the princess. I didn't travel this far through the galaxy to just leave them here for whatever the Empire has planned for them. So come help me if you want, or stay here. I really don't care."

With that, she grabbed her blaster and secured the cap on her head, hiding as much of her face as she could and headed for the door. But she stopped when a hand touched her shoulder.

"I didn't come this far to sit by either," Luke said. She closed her eyes as he kept his firm, comforting hand there. "There's no way I would let you do this alone. Not after everything we've been through."

She turned and faced him, opening her eyes to his young, smiling face. "Thanks, Luke."

He nodded and turned back to Han. "You still gonna sit here and wait?"

"What's in it for me?" he asked.

"Really?" Rachel said.

"The princess is rich," Luke said.

Han raised an eyebrow. "Rich?"

"Rich, powerful. Listen, if you were to rescue her, the wealth would be more than you could imagine."

"I don't know, I can imagine quite a lot."

"You'll get it!"

Han thought for a moment. "I better," he finally said, standing with his blaster. "Now, how are we gonna do this?"

"The old Wookie Prisoner Gag," Rachel said with a grin.

"The what?" both boys said at once with a growl from Chewie.


	10. Chapter 10

Joey still couldn't get Leia to talk to him. In the few hours since Alderaan's fall, he had muttered her name through their shared ventilation system, but she had said nothing back. So his thoughts kept leading back to the movie he thought he knew so well. How long until Han, Luke, and Chewbacca showed up to rescue her? Was Rachel with them to help look for him as well or would they have thought to check that he was also a prisoner without her help? And if she wasn't here, where was she?

There were so many questions and stuck in this cell, he had no means of figuring out the answers.

He was brought out of his state when blasters sounded outside the door. This was it! They were here to rescue Leia!

"Rachel, we're gonna have company!" Joey heard the voice of Han Solo call.

He could hear the pressing of buttons outside his cell. "Son of a bitch." That was Rachel! She was here! She was alive!

The door blasted open and she was there, dressed in the gray uniform of a docking bay worker. Her jump towards him was much faster, however, as his weakened state of hunger kept his reflexes at bay as she jumped into his arms.

"You're alright! I knew you'd be okay. I knew it!" she said, her arms tight around his neck.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm alright," he said, clapping her back gently. He wasn't really a hugger and Rachel knew that, but right now, the feeling of comfort, familiarity that neither of them had experienced since getting separated on the _Tantive_ was too much for them to just let go.

"Rachel!" a voice called out. It was Luke, his Stormtrooper helmet gone and Leia behind him. "We've got to go!"

"Right," she said, letting Joey go and pulling her blaster out of her pants, following Luke.

Han and Chewbacca were already blocking the path forward as the smaller group caught up with them. Blaster fires were being sent their way through a cloud of smoke and fire.

"Can't get out that way," Han said.

"Looks like you've managed to cut off our only escape route," Leia yelled over the blasts.

"Maybe you'd like it back in your cell, your highness," Han taunted.

Rachel had joined him in the blaster fight, her smaller form under his peeking around the wall to blast at the Stormtroopers heading their way. "Maybe try to think of a solution instead of fighting, the two of you!" she yelled.

Luke had ducked further behind the wall with Joey, yelling into a small microphone. "Threepio! Threepio! We've been cut off! Are there any other ways out of the cell bay?"

"All systems have been alerted to your presence, sir," Threepio said. "The main entrance seems to be the only way in or out. All other information on your level is restricted."

Smoke was filling the corridor, and fast. There was no way that Rachel, Han, and Chewie were going to keep the Stormtroopers at bay. "Rachel!" Joey called. "The trash compactor!"

She ducked out of the frey instantly. "Right!" she said, throwing her blaster to Joey who caught it and aimed at the grate opposite them.

"Everyone inside," Joey said, leading the way into the compactor. He fell quite a few feet before hitting the softened, wet garbage. The smell, something one could never experience through a television screen, was atrocious. He choked down a gag as Leia, Rachel and Luke fell beside him.

"A door!" Luke said, aiming his blaster at the entrance.

"No!" Rachel said, pulling his arm down. "It's magnetically sealed. You'll send the laser all over the place."

Chewie landed beside Joey, followed by Han. As soon as the space captain found his footing, he turned to Joey. "What a wonderful smell you've discovered, General Ghost! Garbage chute was a great idea."

"General...what?"

"Rachel said your name was Dresden Jay. Dresden Jay is gone."

"I said his middle name was Dresden," Rachel countered. "I never said he was this famous general!"

"So your name is Dresden!" Leia yelled. "How many more lies are the two of you going to tell me?"

"As many as we have to to keep my promise to Ben," Rachel said, leaning against the wall.

"Guys, stop yelling," Luke said. "There's something alive in here."

"There's nothing there!" Han argued.

"Something just moved past my leg!"

"It's your imagination!"

"Shut up!" Joey yelled. "Luke, get onto the trash. Get out of the water-"

But it was too late. Luke was pulled under by whatever creature inhabited the trash compactor. Joey readied himself to pounce after him, but Rachel grabbed his arm. Whatever Luke would be fine. There was no need to act. She did her best to explain this with her eyes, and Joey seemed to get the message, unclenching his body and relaxing, moving his own eyes back towards the water.

Everyone else had started to shout for Luke, but when he didn't surface immediately, the room grew quiet. When Luke eventually shot back out of the sewage, he was covered in gunk and the creature's tentacles were wrapped around his body. Leia and Han started to call for him, but Rachel and Joey kept their distance, watching the scene play out before them.

"What happened?" Leia shouted.

"I don't know," Luke said. "It just disappeared."

And then, the walls began to shake. Instinctively, Rachel grabbed Joey for a familiar comfort. In all of this action since their reunion, they hadn't once had a chance to talk, to be together in this world where everything was foreign, yet familiar.

The group began scrambling and Leia shouted at them to help barr the walls, slowly closing in around them, but Rachel and Joey weren't concerned with the walls.

"Luke," Rachel prompted, yelling over the noise of the walls and the shouting of their companions, yet staying relatively calm. "Use the com-link. Call Threepio."

"Yes!" Luke said, pulling it out of his Stormtrooper suit. "Threepio! Threepio!"

Joey watched the groups' attempts to block the closing doors and took his chance with their momentary distraction. "Rachel, what did you mean you were keeping a promise to Ben?"

Her head turned toward him. "He knew, Joey. He knew that we know the future...and the past. And...Joey, this isn't the time for this. We can talk about it when we make it to the Falcon."

"You bet your ass we're gonna talk about it. Cause what you're saying makes it sound like Ben's met us before. And Vader...he's implied the same thing."

Rachel's eyes grew wide. "You spoke to Darth Vader?"

Subconsciously, Joey rubbed at his neck. "I don't want to talk about it right now. You're right. We should save this for the Falcon."

Rachel knew Joey pretty well. They had been friends for almost five years and she knew whatever happened with him and Vader wasn't pretty. Joey also wasn't one for bottling up his feelings. He was a sharer. Almost to the point where he and Rachel had no secrets because they were eachother's vent buddies. The fact that he didn't look willing to share scared her more than her imagianings of what Vader could have done to him.

The walls grew closer and closer and the panic around them grew as Luke continued to yell "Shut down all the garbage smashers on the detention level!" into his com link. She and Joey kept their cool, climbing up the rubble whenever it grew too tight. Then, when Rachel was able to touch both sides of the closing wall, it stopped.

The cheering that ensued should have been infectious. But all the two friends from another world could feel was stoicism. They simply watched with forced smiles on their faces as their companions cheered with relief.

"They did it! Those crazy droids did it!" Luke said, making his way over to Rachel and wrapping her in a hug. She instinctively stiffened, and Luke pulled back. "Sorry," he said, his glee fading a little. "I forgot. You don't like strangers touching you."

But Rachel wasn't uncomfortable. It was the surprise at that fact that had caused her to stiffen for Luke wasn't a stranger. He had never been. She had known him through a television screen since before she was born. And now, she knew him as a companion and a friend.

She smiled and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, returning the hug. "We're not strangers anymore, Luke."

He clutched her tightly and Han and Chewie started helping Leia out through a vent they could now climb to.

Luke pulled back and looked at Joey. "Shouldn't you two be more excited? We were almost crushed!"

"Iguess this whole thing just isn't what I thought it would be," Joey said, heading toward the vent.

Luke turned to Rachel. "What did he mean by that?"

"The Rebellion," she covered. "We always dreamed of joining the Rebellion. Now that we have, it's just not what we thought it would be."

"What were you expecting?"

She let out a sigh. "I don't really know, Luke. It was a dream so far out of reach that we never even considered it until it happened. Now that it has, there's so many questions we thought we would have the answer to that we don't. So many mysteries that we couldn't have predicted."

Luke smiled. "Well, I'm glad you joined the Rebellion. WE never would have met if you hadn't. Now that we have, I can't imagine the Rebellion without you."

She returned his smile. "Thank you, Luke."

"Hey, kid! Sweetheart!" Han called from outside the vent. "We gotta get movin' before those troopers find us."


End file.
